The Alta Group, a global consultancy focused on equipment leasing and asset finance, has appointed Keith A. Wilton as a managing director. Wilton’s broad expertise in financial services includes notable skills in turnaround management, due diligence, business planning, and operations streamlining.
He most recently served as executive vice president at Pacific Capital Bancorp in Santa Barbara, Calif., which recruited him in 2010 to manage the commercial and consumer lending processes after the bank entered into a consent order with The Office of the Controller of the Currency and was recapitalized by Gerald J. Ford’s Ford Financial Fund. His work contributed to the lifting of the consent order enforcement action and re-establishment of the bank as a prominent lender in its Central California Coast footprint.
“Keith brings Alta additional senior executive level financial services talent in equipment leasing/financing, and also broad financial market skills,” noted Alta CEO John C. Deane. “His talent will support Alta’s continuing growth, and his strong operational experience will help serve the tactical needs of our clients.”
Wilton said, “What an honor it is to join an organization with such a premier reputation in the equipment leasing and asset finance industry. I am looking forward to being a significant contributor to Alta's future growth.”
Earlier in his career, Wilton was an independent consultant assisting private equity firms in exercising due diligence on potential investments in financial services firms and assessing the turnaround plans of existing management of portfolio companies. From 2002 to 2007, he was president of the Specialty Finance Group and corporate executive vice president at Greater Bank Bancorp of East Palo Alto, Calif., where he drove the development and implementation of business plans focused on improving the performance of the bank’s struggling health care practice financing, equipment leasing, asset-based lending/factoring, resident mortgage lending, international trade finance, and Small Business Administration lending units.
Past positions also include serving as senior vice president and division manager of the National Automobile Leasing Division, and later, as president of the Pacific and Atlantic Regions for Wells Fargo Bank’s Auto Finance Group. Wilton also has held management positions with AT&T Capital Corporation and American National Leasing Corporation/Foothill Bank, driving improvements in credit management, portfolio quality, and asset management..
Since 1992, The Alta Group has represented equipment leasing and finance companies, financial institutions, manufacturers and service providers, offering management consulting and expertise in global market entry, vendor finance, professional development, legal support services, asset management, and mergers and acquisitions.